Analysis Of Respiratory Signals Research Articles

Waveform analysis for the detection of airways obstruction in man.

The mathematical analysis of respiratory signals has been suggested as a safe noninvasive method for the diagnosis of airways obstruction in man. It involves (i) recording the respired air volume against time waveform for the deep and rapid breathing manoeuvre, (ii) digitising the analogue waveform and (iii) processing the data on a digital computer. The fast Fourier transform technique is used to process the data to yield the amplitude/power spectrum of the waveform. It is shown that, with the aid of the spectrum, it is possible to distinguish between the breathing waveform of a patient suffering from airways obstruction (AWO) and a normal subject (free from AWO). The paper presents results based on a study of the analysis of the respiratory volume signals of 85 subjects (both normals and patients) and suggests that this technique be used as a mass screening diagnostic test for AWO. The processing of the signals and subsequent diagnosis can be performed online with the aid of a microprocessor-based computer system.